Nontraumatic Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: An International Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline

Nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) can lead to major disability in patients of all ages. It presents at various levels of severity and can be either symptomatic or asymptomatic. There is a vast array of management strategies. Treatment is often subject to physician bias. Clinical practice guidelines that are broad-based, internationally developed, consensus-driven, and strictly evidence-based are needed. The aim of this guideline by the Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO) was to develop international evidence-based recommendations to assist physicians and patients in managing ONFH.

ARCO convened an international, multidisciplinary guideline panel that was balanced to minimize potential bias from conflicts of interest. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was utilized, including GRADE Evidence-to-Decision frameworks. The panel prioritized clinical questions, defined criteria for the systematic review of evidence, evaluated the statistical analysis, and, by consensus, approved recommendation statements, which were then subject to external review by content experts and stakeholders (a health policy-maker and a patient).

The Panel Agreed on 12 recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of ONFH.

Key recommendations of these guidelines require accurately staging ONFH and determining when pain may be due to ONFH. They establish principles for optimal decision-making by assessing the quality of evidence backing various treatments and identifying numerous areas for additional investigation.

This international evidence-based guideline provides standardized recommendations for the diagnosis and management of nontraumatic ONFH. It synthesizes all available evidence using GRADE methodology and offers practical, consensus-supported guidance for accurate staging, imaging selection, treatment decision-making, and the identification of patients who would benefit from joint-preserving interventions. The guideline supports clinicians in reducing practice variation, improving diagnostic accuracy, and optimizing treatment pathways for patients with ONFH.